Just Acting??: Part I - Part IX
by Lissa Mahon
Summary: Logan convinces Max pretend to be his girlfriend when he goes to visit his family, but are they really just acting? In the new chapter: the day of the operation arrives and everyone starts thinking a little differently.
1. Just Acting??: Part I

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Just Acting  
by Lissa  
  


### Disclaimer: I dont own Max or Logan blah blah blah you know the drill the only people I own are Logan's family who came from my own crazy little mind, so if you want to use them in a story please ask me first.  


Please Please Please (dont make me beg) leave a review this is my first fanfic! 

Just to make reading this easier I put Max's thoughts in between ~ ~ 

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#### It was 3:30 in the afternoon and Max was just getting back to the Jam Pony when her pager started going off. 

~Damn it Logan. Can't you leave me alone for just one freakin day.~   


"Hey shugga. What's up," called Original. "Wheelchair boy keepin you on a short leash again?".   


"Yeah something like that. I gotta run. Cya later." 

Ending with that, Max jumped onto her motorcycle and left leaving a very upset Cindy shaking her head.  
  


~When is that girl gonna wake up and realize that that boy has fallen hard for her?~

Max's POV

~I got off the elevator and went up to the door to Logan's apartment. I was just about to knock on the door when I started thinking: 

~You know, for a spoiled, idealistic, rich boy I gotta admit he is kinda hot -whoa, what the hell am I saying, Logan? hot? OK, Max just knock on the door and see what he wants.~ "Logan? You in here?"

"Over here." she heard him say from behind the desk of his computer. 

~He spends way too much time with that thing~ I thought.

"So who do you want me to get rid of now and why?"

"Hello to you to" he said smiling "Actually, this time it's more of a favor i need to ask of you instead of a job." he said.

"Great! I'll just add this to the *long* list of favors you still owe me for." I told him. 

~Gosh as if I don't do enough for him. Now, he needs me to do even more.~ 

"Okay, my cousin Rachel is getting married next month and my Aunt Meredith is *insisting* that I come stay with her in Montreal two weeks before the wedding." 

"And I come in where?" I interuppted. This little story of his was going nowhere and Normal wanted me back by 4:30 and I so didn't feel like dealing with him today. 

"Every time I've seen my aunt since my parents accident she's always told me I shouldn't be alone and has tried to hook me up with some friends daughter or niece or something like that. And especially with me being like this" he said pointing to his wheelchair. "And-" 

"And you want me to fill that place in for you so she can't do that again." 

~He was acting so weird like he expected me to be angry or something.~ "Not exactly. You see, I kind of told her that-" 

"You told her what?" ~OK, maybe now I was a little angry.~ 

"I told her that you were my girlfriend and that you were living with me." he said to me looking slightly afraid of my reaction. ~And I would have been scared too if I had been him because *now* I was mad~ 

"You told her what?! Logan, how could you?"

~His girlfriend. Now there's an interesting thought. Logan's girlfriend. No, don't even think about it. Remember what Zack said. Your a soldier Max. A soldier. You can't fall for someone especially not Mr. Eyes Only over there~ 

"Max" he said snapping me back into reality please it'll only be for two weeks. And it'll just be acting."

"Please" he said with those big, blue, puppy dog eyes off his. . 

-Damn, I hate it when he does this, but then again he looked so incredibly gorgeous-

"Fine, but only because your gonna find out about Zack and the others for me. Right." 

"Right. But you know you'll actually have to pretend that you like me.

~That shouldn't be too hard~

"No problem, besides, I happen to be an excellent actress." 


	2. Just Acting??: Part II

Just Acting: Part II

by Lissa Mahon

Rating: PG? 

Disclaimer: I dont own any characters 'cept Logan's family... so ask me if you want to use them in a story. The rest of the characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee and the writers at FOX.

Author's Note:: Please leave reviews, they're such a great help. Plus, the more reviews, the more likely I am to continue writing this story. I also want to ask all of you to write your own fanfic. I am so sick of seeing awesome shows like this get canceled and this is one way to boost the shows popularity. Thanx for your help! ~Lissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And Now I... the Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Two Tears~~ by Hanson

For every tear that falls from your eye.

Two Tears fall from mine.

Max walked into Logan's apartment and began looking around. For the first time since she had met him, his apartment look disorganized and almost messy. 

"Logan? You in here?" she called looking around the room.

She heard a familiar sound of the wheels of his chair coming from his bedroom and followed the sound.She found Logan in the corner unfolding a letter and scanned it quickly. A look spread across his face. It almost seemed like it was fear controlling the look on the face of Mr. Eyes Only.

Max had never seen this look, this lookof what seemed like fear and relief on his face, something she had never seen on Logan before. And there was just something in those deep sky blue eyes of his. Something that was going on and she needed to find out what it was.

"Knock, knock" she said softly.

Logan peered over the edge of his letter.

"Hey," he replied in an equally soft voice. There was clearly something on his mind.

"Mind if I come in?" she asked him hoping that he'd say yes.

"Yeah. Sure." he told her, obviously absorbed in the letter he was reading.

"So...What are you reading?" she asked him eagerly.

Logan folded up the letter again and looked at Max with a face filled with deep emotions. 

"It was," he began, his voice beginning to crack, "a letter from my aunt. She knows this doctor who says he can help me walk again. There's some surgery that's been practically forgotten in this godforsaken country of ours. They said that if I leave tomorrow or the day after, that I might be able to walk by the time it's Rachel's wedding." 

By the time he finished the story, his voice had been reduced to a whisper. /I must be missing something here./ Max thought.

"Well that's great then. You should be happy. In three weeks, you'll be able to walk again!"

Max closed her eyes for just a second and imagined herself dancing with Logan. The two of them moving to the same rhythm, the same beat. She was far into her daydream when Logan's familiar voice interrupted her intense thoughts.

"Max." he said, bringing her back to reality.

"I said he might be able to restore my ability to walk. There's about a 70% chance of success if things go well. If they don't-"

"If they don't then there's a 90% chance that I'll never be able to walk again." he told her. 

He looked like a little boy. A scared, lonely, confused little boy and it took every bit of strength and every bit of her Manticore training to keep her from crossing the room and holding him in her arms and telling him that everything would turn out alright. 

"Are you gonna do it? Are you gonna have the operation?" she asked him anticipating what could happen between them if he could move again. Once she was snapped back into the real world and out of her fantasies by Logan's voice -only this time, he didn't sound like his usually confident, optimistic self.

"I don't know Max. I don't know. I mean what if I risk it all and something goes wrong and--"

She cut him off "--nothing is going to happen to you" she assured him as she got up and kneeled at the bottom of his wheelchair taking his hands in hers. Her chocolate-colored eyes gazing directly into his. They were filled with promise as if she were trying to tell him that everything was going to be alright.

"Max, you don't know that. You don't know that everything is going to turn out right. No one knows that. Not you, not me, not even the doctor." he said raising his voice to a shout. 

"I know it Logan. I know. You're going to be fine. In a couple of days, you're gonna leave and go to Montreal and when you come back three weeks later you'll be able to walk again and then you won't need me anymore. And you know that I always get what I want" she said with a crooked smile on her face. Logan managed a laugh from that.

But, Max's own voice surprised her. 'He wouldn't need her anymore'. She hadn't thought of that. What would she do if she didn't see Logan anymore? How would that change her life? The 'what-ifs' kept coming until Logan finally called her back yet again.

"Fine I'll go. I'll do it, but I still want you to come with me. There is no way that I am going to visit Aunt Meredith and her band of matchmakers without a kick-ass soldier to protect me." he said forcing a smile.

/I still need you. Not only to come to the wedding with me. But I need you after that and all the time too. Is that what you want? For me not to need you anymore? God, Max, why can't I just tell you this?/ he thought.

"Deal" she replied. Her old words echoing in her head 'and you won't need me anymore'. She didn't want that to happen, but this was a great opportunity for him -even if it meant taking him away from her.

Max glanced outside the window and noticed that the sun had set long ago. 

"What time is it anyway?" she asked him.

"Late. You can crash here tonight if you want and go home tomorrow and pack."

She decided to take him up upon his offer after all, if she was going on vacation, she was going to need her beauty rest.

Max reluctantly let go of Logan's hands and got up from the floor. Before she left the room she turned and looked him right in the eye again and said,

"Goodnight" with a small smile on her face. Then, she bent down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. 

Logan's eyes followed her to the doorway. /Please don't leave me./ he thought.

As she left the room, two tears fell from her eyes as she thought of how the events of the next few days could change her entire life. 

The last thing Logan about before he fell asleep was of the smart, gorgeous, witty girl in the room next to him and how he didn't know what he would do if she ever left him. As he closed his eyes and fell asleep tiny tear trickled down his cheek. 

The last thing Max thought was: /don't forget. It's just acting./


	3. Just Acting??: Part III

Just Acting? Part 3

By lissa Mahon

To see my disclamier please go to the first or second part of the story. Thanks!

Author's Note:: If you think I should continue this story or have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a review. They help me to decide if I want to continue writing the story. Thanks again!!! ~Lissa

--Logan's apartment--

Logan woke up the next morning and wheeled himself into the kitchen to see if Max was their. Upon getting there, he found a note she had left. It said:

" Dear Logan, 

Sorry I didn't say goodbye. I had to run 'cause Normal wanted us in early, besides I had to think of a good excuse for not coming in for the next three weeks. When I'm done at work I'm gonna run home and pack some stuff. I'll meet you back at your place around 4:00 so we can discuss how this little charade of ours is gonna run. Cya later. ~Max

When he finished reading the letter, he folded it up and left it on the counter and went over to his computer to obtain a passport that would allow Max to go with him.

----Meanwhile, at the Jam Pony Express..--

"Hey Normal, you got a minute?" Max Guevera asked her boss preparing herself to drop the bomb on him about not coming in for three weeks.

"I suppose." he replied and led her to his "office".

"You have one minute." he told her, setting a timer on his watch. The look on his face told Max that this wasn't the best time to be telling him this, but it was now or never so:

"Well, you see," she began, "I have to go visit my... family for the next three weeks. You see, my dad's real sick and I need to go see him, so I'm not gonna be able to come in for like three weeks," she said talking as fast as she could trying to get it over with and brace herself for his reaction.

Normal just looked at Max, clearly not believing a word of her story.

"I thought you had no family," he told her dully.

"Well, yeah that's right, I have no real family. You see... I was adopted when I was ten. So they're only really my adopted parents," she lied again.

"Right," Normal said slowly. "Just don't expect me to keep your job for you."

"What if I were willing to give you...say half of the salary I would have made while I was gone...in return for you holding my job for me?"

Normal appeared to be in deep thought for a few minutes before he turned to Max and told her:

"Alright, but you have *three* weeks and no more," he told her sharply.

"Deal," she told him with a big grin on her face and then left the office.

Once outside the room, she met up with Original Cindy and Sketchy.

"Hey, Max, can you do me a favor, you see there's this guy who wants me to-" Sketchy began to ask Max when she cut him off with-

"Sorry Sketch. I can't. I'm gonna be out for the next three weeks. i have to go visit my family."

"Oh. Where do they live?" he asked her, actually believing her.

"In...Scranton, Pennsylvania," she said having absolutely no idea where this place was.

Meanwhile, Original was glancing back and forth between her two comrades not accepting a single thing Max had said and had begun to formulate in her mind what Max was really gonna be doing for the next three weeks.

"Yeah right girl," she said in a sassy manner. "What are you and wheelchair boy eloping and going on your honeymoon or somethin'?" she chortled.

"Haha. Very funny," Max sneered.

"Oh Max, by the way, these military guys are posting these reward signs with this picture of some girl on them. Man, she looks so much like you it's funny," Sketchy said laughing hysterically. 

"You have to see it. There's one right out there," he told the girl, pointing to a banner on a nearby telephone pole.

Max ran out of the garage to the post to see the poster. What she saw was an announcement stating that anyone who could capture this "dangerous runaway" would receive a $10,000 dollar reward from Colonel Donald Lydecker. 

/Oh, god. What if they find me? What am I supposed to do? No. What if they find Logan first? Oh god help me./ she prayed for the first time in the eighteen years of her life.

Max's face had fear, something she almost never expressed, all over it as she leaped onto her Ninja and sped off to her apartment.

She had to get out Seattle and fast. Max parked her motorcycle and dashed up the stairs to her apartment peering over her shoulder ever now and then to make sure no one was following her. She slammed the door behind her, causing her roomate Kendra to jump, and quickly locking it.

"Max, what's wrong. Are you okay?" she asked. She had never seen Max in such a dither before. It was really worrying her.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Max reassured both Kendra and herself.

"I just have to get some stuff 'cause I'm going to visit my family for the next three weeks," she told Kendra breathlessly. Kendra could see that Max was obviously not in the best mood to explain what was really going on at the time, so she just nodded her head while Max rushed about her bedroom taking stuff with her.

As she was running out the door, she yelled over her shoulder to Kendra: 

"If anyone asks you where I went, just tell them you don't know. Okay."

"But Max. Why? Why can't I just tell them that you went on vacation?" Kendra asked her.

"Just promise me that you won't tell them anything okay. Please. You have to trust me on this. Okay," she hollered.

"Okay, but Max. Be careful okay." Kendra said to her as she ran from the apartment, got on her motorcycle and sped off toward Logan's. Not believing how much danger she had just put her friends in.

---Logan's Apartment--

Max burst through the door to find Logan and Bling having sitting having a conversation about pre-Pulse economy. The two men just looked at the deranged girl in bewilderment. Logan was the first one to say anything.

"Max. Are you okay? Is something wrong?," he asked. 

/Please let her be okay/ he thought.

Max walked over to Logan and whispered into his ear, so Bling couldn't hear

"We have a "situation". There are posters of me up all around the city. Lydecker and his guys have the whole town looking for me. We have to leave and now."

Logan barely heard what Max was saying. All he was concentrating on was the way her breath tickled his ear. But, what he did get out of it was that she could be hurt if they stayed where they were and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. They had to get out before they found her.

Please leave a review or I won't continue. 


	4. Just Acting??: Parts IV

Just Acting?: Part 4

By Lissa Mahon

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the regular Dark Angel cast including: Max, Logan, Bling, Original Cindy, Sketchy, Lydecker, etc. The only characters I own are Logan's family and any other characters mentioned in this section of the story besides the previously mentioned people, so if you want to use them for a story, please let me know. Thank you. ~Lissa.

Just so you all know, the point of this story is to show that every character has a soft side -yes even Max and Logan- and to show the reader (that's you) that when in a disguise, sometimes we are more free to act the way we want. Just read the fanfic and you'll understand, but just remember, Max is acting okay!

Authors Note: Thx to everyone who left a review last time. I was just wondering how many people are M/L shippers so I know which way to make to story turn. If you have a

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*PartIV~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As soon as Max had finished talking to Logan and she recognized that he wasn't completely with them, he was snapped back to reality by Max smacking him over the head.

"Hello! Did you hear a word I just said? There are signs up all around the city. We have to leave now," she shouted at him.

Logan just stared at her, like a puppy being reprimanded by its owner, quite intimidated by the beautiful, outspoken girl standing before him. 

"Uh Bling," he said turning toward his friend, "You're going to have to leave. Max and I have somewhere we have to go," he said looking over at him and then up at Max.

"Well okay then," Bling answered getting up and trekking to the doorway looking slightly confused. Before he left, he looked at the two of them and said, with a sly grin,

"Now play nice you two," and exited the building.

Max looked down at Logan not really believing that Bling had the audacity to say what he said and asked him, 

"Did he just say what I think he did?"

"I think he did," Logan responded still looking straight ahead in complete disbelief that his friend had said that.

Once they recovered from the shock of Bling's crude statement, they started to talk about the trip.

"Are you actually gonna wear _that_?" Logan asked Max referring to the rather tight fitting sleeveless black shirt she was wearing. She only glared at him before replying. 

/Omigod. I think she might actually try to kill me for that./ 

But Max had other ideas.

"Why?" she inquired. "Don't you think it looks good on me" she questioned him innocently as she walked over to his wheelchair and leaned over so she was right in his face. 

/Heh. That'll get him. He looks like he's gonna lose consciousness just from looking at me./

"Of co-course it looks good on you M-Max," he stammered, "It's just that...."

"Just what?" she asked only a few inches from his face.

"No- Nevermind," he replied desperately trying to end the conversation before she actually killed him.

"Yea right," she said with a smile, backing away from Logan's wheelchair.

"Okay, just let me grab some stuff to bring with me and we're out of here," he told her, wheeling into the sanctity of his bedroom.

--15 minutes later--

Max and Logan were in his car driving to the airport. Not much was spoken amongst the two of them until they were about a mile away from the airport when Logan finally spoke up: 

"Okay, we leave from gate C13 of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on flight 8344 at 1:35 P.M. and get to the O'Hare Airport in Chicago around 6:45 P.M. From there, we pick up flight 7692 at gate D14 at 7:15 and arrive at Montreal International Airport around 10:20."

"Gee thanks for the itinerary dad," Max answered sullenly.

She turned and looked directly at Logan and sharply told him:

"If any of Lydecker's men show up, just get on the plane and get out of here. I'll take care of them."

Without even taking his eyes off the road, Logan coolly and calmly responded to that with,

"I'm not leaving you there Max, so don't even start talking about it." 

The rest of their trip to the airport was as silent as the calm before a tempest. As soon as they arrived at the airport, they checked their bags in and headed toward the gate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile, back at the Jam Pony~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendra walked into the Jam Pony and started looking around for Cindy. She spotted her in a corner as far away from Normal as possible talking to Herbal.

"Cindy," she called. Cindy turned around and looked at Max's roomy like she hadn't seen her in years. 

"Hey girl! What's up! You know Max ain't around here today. She had to go somewhere."

"Yea I know I talked to her."

"U believe her story?" Cindy asked giving Kendra this look that told her that she knew something was up too.

"Not a word of it. Wanna know where she really went?" Kendra said with an evil grin on her face.

As if she even had to ask Cindy! Just then, Normal walked past giving them an angry look.

"Bip, bip, bip," he hollered at them, "I don't see any progress being made her," he continued shaking his head and walking into his "office".

The girls decided to continue their discussion outside of the garage to prevent further wrath from Normal. As soon as they were outside, Kendra proceeded with the story.

"Well, we both know for a fact that Max has no family, so that story was obviously not true. But. .yesterday got a page from Logan and she went to call him back. I guess she didn't know I was home 'cause she had a nice, little chat with him. And guess what!" she told Cindy who looked like she was going to burst if she didn't tell her soon.

"Don't just stand there girl. Tell me what she said."

"Max told him she'd be right there and that she'd be ready to leave tomorrow that she just had to tie up a few loose ends at work before they left. Apparently, she agreed to be his date to some family thing of his," she told her. The two girls just looked at each other until Kendra's eyes narrowed and she slyly said, 

"You think they're gonna hook up?"

Cindy nodded her head knowingly.

"Mmmhmmm," she said quickly before the girls started laughing.

"Someone's getting hooked up!!!" shouted Kendra.

"Yea baby," screamed Cindy.

/Yea/ thought Cindy /we're onto you girl./

Suddenly, Kendra grew rather serious and turned to Cindy and said, 

"Well maybe that was a lie too. Maybe their eloping," she said only half-jokingly before they blew up laughing again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five vans in military colors pulled up in front of the door to the airport. An average height man in approximately his mid-40s stepped out and began speaking to the troops,

"Okay men. We're here to find a girl about 19 years old. She has brown hair and brown eyes, probably answers to the name of Max. You'll especially know its her if you see a barcode tattooed to the back of her neck. If anyone sees this girl or any girl matching my description, you are not to go near her. Alert me at once and follow her until I arrive there. Is that understood?" he bellowed.

"Yes sir!" shouted his troops. 

"Proceed men," he responded and barged into the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. He was going to find Max and the rest of her Manticore sibling escapees if it was the last thing he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the same time,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan and Max boarded the plane early, because of Logan's temporary disability. After a 10 minute struggle, they managed to get into seats A and B of row 6, Max in the window seat and Logan next to the aisle. The other passengers would begin boarding in about 15 minutes, so they had a few minutes to talk about the charade they were about to pull off.

"So," Max began, "You never told me what your family was like."

"Well," Logan said taking a deep breath as though this was a long and complicated story, "My Aunt Meredith was my mother's sister and unfortunately, she didn't inherit her disposition. She has 4 children, my cousins Rachel, Felicia, Jeffrey, and Kaitlyn," he told her. He turned toward Max and said, "You'll like Katie, she's a lot like you. 

In fact, you both remind me a lot of my mother." Max looked at Logan and saw that tears were starting to well up in his eyes. She was about to console him, when the rest of the passengers began boarding the plane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the same time outside gate C14~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sir," came a report over Lydecker's transmitter, "we've found out that a girl matching your classification has boarded the plane at gate C13. It should be right near you sir."

"Thank you soldier." came the reply.

Lydecker rushed up to the doorway to the passage that lead to the plane when he was stopped by a stewardess who said,

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't go through there without a ticket."

Lydecker held up identification and said,

"I'm with the United States army. We have reason to believe that a dangerous escapee is on this plane and we have authorization to determine the truth." 

The stewardess only glanced at his license before nodding to him to go back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back on the Plane~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan was looking down the aisle at the oncoming travelers when he thought he spotted an unwelcome face.

"Max," he began sounding alarmed, "Lydecker is-"

"Logan don't worry," Max started trying to calm him down, "He's not going to find us he's nowhere near-"

Logan cut her off, "No Max. I mean Lydecker's here. He's in the front of the plane and he's coming this way!"

"Ah shit. What am I going to do Logan?" Max asked trying not to panic. 

Lydecker was waiting for the man sitting in row 3 to store his briefcase in the overhead compartment. As soon as he finished, Lydecker continued to prowl down the aisle looking to the left and the right to see if Max was there. He approached row 4. 

/I am not going to let him get her/ thought Logan.

Had the situation been different, Logan probably would have thought a little more before his next act. Just as Lydecker turned his head to look at Max and Logan, Logan turned, leaned Max's head against the plane window and kissed her long, hard, and passionately. Max placed her hands on the side of Logan's face and returned the kiss. Every emotion Logan felt for Max came out of him during that one kiss. Inevitably, when Lydecker walked by he never saw her face and continued walking to the back of the plane.

After scrutinizing the face of every passenger onboard the plane, Lydecker exited the same way he came in. He didn't even bother to stop and check the faces of the couple in the front of aircraft. And it was because he was so cocky, that he missed catching her.

Max didn't want to be the one to break up the kiss, but if she didn't, it could have become something more powerful. Something she wasn't sure she could stop if it ever started. She broke her lips away from Logan in complete awe

"Wow," she whispered so softly that not even Logan heard her. Logan was about to kiss her again, but Max put her index finger over his lips to prevent him from saying anything that might make her reveal her true feelings for him. 

"We can't do this" she told him sounding somewhat disappointed in herself.

She couldn't and wouldn't let herself fall for him. Part of being the soldier that she was, was being stolid and never showing any emotions or feelings. Emotion was a weakness and Max never showed any signs of weakness unless it was absolutely necessary and this wasn't an exception to the rule. They both retired to their regular seats and were silent for a long time.

Logan's spine burned from moving his back that way, but it was worth it if Max was safe. If Lydecker had seen her, he would have never forgiven himself for letting her get hurt. He wanted to continue kissing her, but Max was right, now wasn't the time. Part of what made them such a good team was that their relationship remained strictly platonic. They could in no way be romantically involved. Besides, they still had to deal with the fact that Lydecker might still discover that Max was on the plane. 

Given different circumstances and a different situation, their kiss would have meant something more. Something much much more, but for now, they just sat in their seats in silence as the plane took off and began its trip to Chicago, the first stop on their trip. Neither of them said a word until they were cruising high above the Jam Pony, high above the Space Needle, high above Seattle. They were leaving all that behind for the next 3 weeks and maybe, just maybe, they were leaving a part of themselves back there. The part that separated falling in love from just acting.


	5. Just Acting??: Part V

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Part V~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Logan said almost nothing to each other for the remainder of the 5-hour flight. They only spoke to each other when the plane finally landed in the 'Windy City' of Chicago, Illinois.

They disembarked from the plane and traveled down the corridor to the inside of the O'Hare Airport. 

Once there, Logan gave Max a signal to wait a minute. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone and began to dial several digits before putting the phone to his ear.

"Aunt Meredith!" he said with a little too much enthusiasm in his voice. "It's me, Logan. Yeah, um.. Max and I are coming a little earlier than planned is that okay? Great thanks. Yeah, I have. Tuesday? Okay. Our plane arrives at the airport at 10:30. Okay then. We'll see you then. Bye."

They started walking toward the gate again. Logan turned his head toward Max, still slightly afraid to speak to her, and said

"My aunt's meeting us at the airport at 10:30 from there we're gonna go back to her house -well actually it's a mansion- and stay there until after the wedding."

"Sounds good to me," was the only thing Max said and kept walking. 

They stopped at gate D14 and boarded the plane once again. The plane took off and they started their journey toward Canada.

Max was looking out of the window, thinking about how small and insignificant everything seemed from so high up, when her thoughts were interrupted by Logan's familiar voice, 

"So... I've made up my mind," he said.

"About what?" Max asked. 

"About the operation. I'm gonna go through with it. That's what I was talking about with my aunt. I'm going to go see the doctor the day after tomorrow," he told her.

"Really?" she asked sounding concerned.

"Yeah."

"So..." Max said trying to think of something to start a conversation with,

"Tell me some more about your family."

They spent the next 2½ hours talking about Logan's family. It was about 9:55 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time) when they finally ended the conversation.

"I remember a story my grandfather used to tell me about my mother. One Christmas, when she was about five years old, my grandfather and my grandmother had to go across the street to help the neighbors set up a Christmas tree. Before they left, they told her not to be snooping around in the Christmas gifts. Of course she assured them that she wouldn't and they left her in front of the television eating a chocolate bar," he narrated. 

Max looked closely at Logan and could see just how much he missed his family and it made Max want a family of her own even more.

/He must have loved his mom a lot/ thought Max. /He said I reminded him of her./ At this thought, a faint smile crept across her face.

"Well, of course, as soon as my grandparents left the house, my mother went down into the cellar and started looking around for presents. She found a large box that was stapled shut and my mom stuck her little hand in and felt around the box and figured out that it was a doll. So, she went back upstairs and waited until Christmas morning to open the box. Can you imagine my grandparents' surprise and my mother's humility when, on Christmas morning, my mom opened the box and pulled out a porcelain doll with chocolate fingerprints all over it!!" Logan said. Max looked at him for just a moment and saw his eyes shining in reminiscence.

Instantly, Max and Logan laughed incessantly at the thought of a white doll covered in chocolate prints. 

When Logan had finished telling Max about the "Christmas incident", an announcement came over the P.A. system of the airplane that they would be arriving in Montreal in 10 minutes.

/It feels good to hear her laughing again. I haven't seen her happy like this in a long time. Although when we get home, she's gonna have Lydecker to worry about and that's not going to make her too cheerful. Oh well, for the next few weeks, we won't have to be troubled by him. I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it,/ thought Logan.

A couple minutes later, their plane arrived in Montreal, Canada. Once they managed to get Logan off the plane and into his wheelchair, they left the terminal.

/It's a good thing Logan speaks French, because God knows I would be lost here without him./

Before they went to claim their bags, Logan decided that it was a good time for him to start getting into character and took off his glasses and put in contacts.

When Max saw his face, she nearly pass out. He looked so incredibly different. Before then, he had been Eyes Only, the confident, 'tell-it-like-it-is' cyberjournalist, but now, now he was completely unlike that. Now he was _cute_ and charming. Max could tell this wasn't going to help her when it came to keeping their relationship strictly business oriented.

Soon, they had their luggage and were making their way down to the exit. A middle-aged, blond-haired woman entered the airport with a young brunette. 

"Logan!" yelled the latter of the two women. Logan's head snapped toward the direction of the girl's voice.

/It's show time/ thought Max.

"Katie? Is that you?" he called to the girl. The girl, Katie, came running over to Logan and Max.

"Well, just look at you," she said looking at the paraplegic.

"Let's not look at me and say we did," Logan chuckled feeling rather embarrassed by his condition.

By that time, Logan's aunt had finally caught up to Katie and was about to say hello when the younger woman spun around to face Max and said,

"And you," she began pointing to her, "must be Max. I heard a lot about you from Logan when I spoke with him the other night."

Max quickly got into character and glanced down at Logan giving him a tiny smirk as though to say, 'oh really', before responding.

"Well I hope it was all good things."

Now it was Logan's turn to start acting, 

"Of course it was," he told her mischievously 

/And what is that supposed to mean/ Max contemplated

When neither his cousin nor his aunt were paying attention, he raised an eyebrow at Max and gave her an equally mischievous smirk.

/God he looks so incredibly sexy when he does that, oh my god what am I saying, this is Logan. Max, snap out of it. I think that time change is starting to cloud your judgement./

As if she could sense the tension in the atmosphere, Logan's aunt interrupted their silent conversation,

"Logan, honey, it's just a shame what's happened to you," she started completely ignoring Max, "Well, surely Dr. Westbank will be able to help you."

Max disliked the woman already. She was everything Max hated in a person: conceited, judgmental, opinionated, and thought she was superior. They were not going to get along well. 

Ending on that note, Mrs. Wrobleski (that's what Logan had said her married name was) led them out to an enormous black limousine as Max pulled a sporty grey sweater around her shoulders. And with that, they embarked on the beginning of their journey.

/Well,/ thought Max /maybe I should look at this little adventure as a chance to be whoever I want to be. After all, it can't hurt anyone, It's just acting./


	6. Just Acting??: Part VI

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Part VI~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Max hoped that Logan's aunt was unaware of how unaccustomed she was to being in a limo.

/Then again,/ she thought, /judging by how surprised he was when he went Mrs. Wrobleski's chauffeur opened the limo door for him, I'd say that he's not too used to this either./

Once inside the great car, Max couldn't help but gaze around at the things that surrounded her during the short ride from the airport to

Willow View, the name of Aunt Meredith's not-so humble abode.

Everything that she saw within the next 45 minutes was completely new to her. About 15 minutes after leaving the airport, the vehicle drove up a long, narrow hill bordered by pine trees. After going about a mile or two up the hill, the car pulled up in front of a magnificent gate.

As if it could sense their presence, the gate opened and allowed the limousine to enter. Once they were past the gate, Max saw the most divine home she had ever seen. Logan must have noticed her astonishment when he leaned over to her and said,

"Pretty amazing huh?"

"Well, let's just say there weren't many mansions at Manticore," she answered him laughing slightly, her eyes still fixated on the house.

A few seconds later, the limousine came to a stop and Max helped Logan get out. He then followed his aunt into her home, leaving his genetically engineered friend alone outside with his cousin Katie.

Max and Katie walked around the car and into the house when Katie started talking to her,

"He likes you a lot you know."

"I haven't seen him this happy since before his divorce from and before his family died," she continued, "I can't remember the last time he looked at someone the way he was looking at you when he thought no one was watching him on the way over here," she said sincerely.

"Really?" Max asked her.

"Yeah. He must really like you." 

The inside of the house was even more impressive than the exterior. The heart of the house was a large, circular room with the ceiling about 25 feet high with a fireplace lit to warm up the whole room. There was something about the room that made Max shiver. The warmth of the hearth of the home. That was something she had never experienced. 

"Well," started Logan's aunt, "You two must be tired, from the time change and all, so I'll have someone show you to your room."

Logan and Max exchanged looks. Their room. This wasn't something that they had thought of earlier.

/Uh oh./ thought Logan, /this can't be a good thing./

Ten minutes later, Logan and Max were in front of the door to their room. As soon as his aunt's butler had left the hall he turned his head to face a very angry looking Max. Rather than risk being caught, he motioned for her to go inside the room and continue the conversation _behind_ closed doors.

As soon as the door was closed behind her, Max exploded at Logan who retaliated by shouting at her in return.

"There is no way I am sharing a room with you," Max hollered.

"What do you think, that I planned it this way?" screamed Logan.

"Max, if you don't our whole cover is ruined," Logan told her, giving her his sad puppy dog face. 

/Damn it. I hate it when he does that./

"Hey this was your idea. You got a solution?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Logan declared grinning.

/I hope she goes for this./

"You," he began, "Take the bed," he said gesturing toward it, "and I'll take the couch," he said pointing to a not-so comfortable looking sofa.

Max seemed to consider this for a second but then seemed to decide against it and responded, 

"Oh yeah right. Your the one that got his spine blown up, so you want 

me to let you sleep on that, that thing, so you could hurt yourself more?" she screamed.

/Gee, I didn't know you cared,/ thought Logan not daring to say it aloud when she was in a mood like this.

"No way!," continued Max, "I'll take the couch and you can take the bed."

"I can't do that!" Logan yelled, "It goes against all the rules of etiquette."

"Oh yeah that's right. I forgot. I'm such a fragile lady. Let's not forget that I can kick your ass," Max screamed.

"Yeah well without me, you'd have gotten yourself killed by now anyway," Logan said.

All of a sudden, the two of them just stopped the arguement and stared at each other realizing their foolishness. 

"We don't have any other options here, Logan," Max said calming down.

"Well, actually there is one idea we seemed to have overlooked," he said.

Max seemed to get what he was saying and just shook her head.

"Uh uh. I am not sharing the bed with you," she said continuing to shake her head.

"You got a better idea?" Logan challenged her.

Stumped, Max relented saying,

"Fine," she said, "But, under these conditions:

1) You stay on _your_ side of the bed, and

2) You don't _ever_ breath a word of this to anyone,"

she warned him.

"Fine." Logan said sternly.

/_What_ have I gotten myself into?/ Max wondered.

Half an hour later, Max was lying in bed. Logan was already falling asleep, but she couldn't. Something was bothering her in the back of her mind. Before she closed her eyes, Max whispered something to the man next to her,

"Good night Logan."

"Night Max," he murmured half-asleep.

The second before she slipped into unconsciousness, Max realized what it was that was bothering her. There was something that was warming up her heart and little did she know that it was love causing it.

She didn't know that something that was supposed to be just acting would turn in to something much, much more.

So what did you think? Too romantic or does it work? Ideas? Suggestions? Anything? Should I continue the story? Please let me know.


	7. Just Acting??: Part VII

Just Acting??: Part VII

by Lissa Mahon

Disclaimer: I own all the characters in this part **except** Max Guevara and Logan Cale (Although I'd trade all the others in for them in an instant). All the rest of the characters in this chapter came from my very own messed up mind.

I put all thoughts _in italics_.

Author's Note:: Okay, I've given up on this *not* being a romance story. But if it starts to seem like there's no plot, somebody please let me know. I have also decided that I am going to write a "series" of stories. "Just Acting" is the second story in this series. Please read "Love Just Wasn't Part of the Game" also. It is the first story of my series and a prequel to this story and the ones that will follow it. Thanks! ~Lissa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And Now...The Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max woke up early the next morning, long before Logan, giving her some time to think about what had happened the night before.

__

"I can't remember the last time he looked at someone that way," Katie had said

"He must really like you." 

Max turned her head and to look at Logan lying next to her. His usually spiky hair was a complete mess_. _There were even a few strands over his eyeand Max found herself wondering what his hair would feel like if she brushed it back onto his forehead. 

__

Max get a grip. It's *Logan*. 

__

What is wrong with me? she wondered, about rush into the bathroom and take some of the Tryptophan she had brought, afraid a seizure was coming on.

She decided that she couldn't sit there any longer, so she got up, grabbed some clothes, and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day. She emerged from the bathroom thirty minutes later to find that Logan was still sleeping.

Max walked around the room and began to unpack some of the things they had brought with them. When she had finished putting all of her clothes away she began emptying out Logan's suitcase. As soon as she opened his suitcase, she found his most prized possession.

__

He can't go anywhere without a computer can he, Max thought as she took the laptop out of the suitcase and placed it on the table near the couch. Then, one by one she lifted the clothes out of the piece of luggage, folded them, and placed them in a drawer.

__

If Lydecker could see me now, Max thought,_ he'd be laughing his ass off. You'd think I was Logan's wife or something. _

Once she had unpacked everything, she stumbled over to a plush chair near the window and sat down. She pulled the curtain open and peered out the glass. Outside, the sun was just starting to come up over the horizon and the streets were bare. The first light had a blue-silver look to it that Max just couldn't explain. Everything out there seemed so different compared to the smoggy and crowded streets of downtown Seattle.

__

I guess this is what the U.S. was like, pre-pulse. 

Max had been looking out the window for a long time and was absolutely captivated by the beauty of the world outside. She was *so* captivated, in fact, that at first she failed to notice that Logan had awoke and had been watching her.

Logan opened his eyes and squinted to see what was going on. The sunlight coming from the nearby window illuminated the entire room, revealing Max sitting on a chair near the window. She never ceased to amaze him. He had woken up to see her sitting on a chair near him with one leg tucked up near her chin, the other down near the leg of the chair reveling her bare feet. She was wearing blue jeans and a tee-shirt, an unusual outfit compared to her cat suit.

Suddenly, Max sensed that she wasn't the only one awake in the room and turned her head to meet Logan's gaze. Logan looked away almost immediately pretending he hadn't seen her and in that second, he looked almost boyish, embarrassed and shy, but his eyes remained a constant, startling sort of blue. He had the kind of piercing eyes that always took her breath away, that made her stop and look up in surprise. The kind of blue eyes that struck straight through to the heart. 

__

Yeah, Max admitted to herself,_ he does have amazing eyes._

"Morning sleepyhead," Max teased him as she handed him his glasses and pushed his wheelchair near the bed.

"Morning," Logan murmured wearily, rubbing his eyes before putting the glasses on, as Max managed to help him into the chair. He headed off toward the bathroom, clothes in hand. Max laughed quietly to herself at Logan's half-asleep state.

"So....." he said when he was ready, "you wanna go see what the city looks like or something?" 

Max looked up at him and smiled. His glasses had been replaced by contact lenses making his eyes more visible. And, despite the amount of time he spent in the bathroom, his face still looked like it hadn't been shaven in a few days. A millions thoughts flew through Max's head. But,

"Hey, I think you forgot to shave while you were in there," was all she could manage to say.

"Very funny," he said smirking at her.

__

I have to put up with *this* for another two weeks? he thought to himself.

Max got up from the chair and said, "Whatever you wanna do." 

She walked into the bathroom to take some Tryptophan, just-in-case.

Logan was putting on his jacket when there was a knock at the door.

He opened it to find Katie. As similar as their personalities were, Katie didn't look much like Logan, she was a short girl of about twenty with striking blond hair and hazel eyes.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said leaning over to give her cousin a kiss on the cheek.

"I guess I'd better watch out," she said laughing, "Max might get jealous."

Logan chuckled to himself.

__

Yeah, she'll be jealous all right. Jealous that *she* wasn't in a different part of the house last night.

Katie's expression turned serious all of a sudden. "I was coming to talk to you last night, but I heard you and Max arguing."

Logan's face grew worried.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Logan said innocently.

__

Yeah right, Katie thought.

Katie raised an eyebrow at him.

__

Damn, and I thought we were doing pretty good with the whole relationship act.

"Okay...Well, you see, Max isn't exactly my girlfriend," he began.

Katie shook her head disapprovingly at him.

"Did anyone else hear us?" Logan asked wondering just how much trouble they were in.

"I doubt it. Mom had those big wooden doors leading to the Great Hall sound-proofed years ago." 

Logan breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Katie,

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone and I don't think they'll find out. You guys are pretty convincing."

A flush of crimson passed across Logan's face.

"Anyway," Katie started, "That wasn't why I came to talk to you. Rachel called last night and said that one of her friends backed out of being in the wedding party at the last minute. Something about her mother-in-law be sick, so now she's short a couple for the wedding party." 

__

Oh no, Logan thought, _I do *not* like where this is going._

"And she wanted to know if I knew anyone who would be able to fill in. So," she said pausing long enough to take a breath, "I told her that you came in last night with your *girlfriend* and she wanted me to ask you two if you were interested."

"Let me ask Max first."

__

She'd probably kill me if I didn't. Not that she probably doesn't want to kill me already but...

"Did I hear my name?" Max asked sweetly as she came out of the bathroom and kissed Logan.

Afterward, Logan looked up at Katie and reluctantly told Max,

"It's okay Max. She knows."

"Oh. Well in that case.." she said wrinkling her nose up, "No offense," she said grinning at Logan.

"None taken," he replied, returning the smile.

__

Oh please, Katie thought,_ And they say there's nothing going on between them._

"Katie wants to know if we'll fill in for two of Rachel's friends in the wedding."

"You mean.."

"That is if you'll be part of the wedding party," Katie finished for her.

__

Me. In a long dress. Walking down the aisle of a church with a bunch of flowers in my hands, with Logan Cale. And I thought Lydecker would have gotten a kick out of the whole unpacking the suitcases thing. Well, it can't be that bad. Right?

"Yeah. Sure. Why not?"

"Great. Then that's settled," Katie said as she turned to leave the room. Instead, she stopped and looked back at the two.

"Hey Max."

Max turned to look at her.

"Yeah."

"I'm going into town today to go shopping. We're having a party after the rehearsal dinner in two weeks and I was going to try and find a dress. You wanna come?"

Max glanced at Logan.

"Why don't you go. Maybe you'll find something to wear too."

"Yeah sure. When are you leaving?"

"Meet you downstairs in about 20 minutes?" 

"Yeah. See ya then," Max answered smiling as she closed the door.

She turned to Logan, "This is *so* not me."

"Oh come on. Please," he asked sighing, "Look all you have to do is go out and get a dress, go to the party, and then you and I get back on that little plane and fly back to our normal lives of fighting the big bad evil and escaping from some covert military group that's after you. Besides, I'm paying for it all," he said with a grin.

Max laughed a little, "Well. When you put it like that... Besides, I should be able to pick French up pretty quickly, so it can't be that bad. Right?"

__

I knew that all that Manticore training had to come in handy somewhere. 

"Right," Logan said, gesturing to the door, "Let's go." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Hall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh Logan. Good Morning," his aunt called to him from across the room.

"It's nice to see you again, Max," she said coldly.

__

Ya know. I'm starting to get the idea that she doesn't like me.

"Well, you'll have to excuse my home's appearance. We've just begun decorating for Christmas. It's good to get things started early you know."

Max looked around and saw a gigantic spruce tree, fully decorated with ornaments, tinsel, and an angel at the top. It was one of the few Christmas trees that she'd ever seen.

"Oh. Logan," Meredith called again, "Your cousin Felicia is coming in tonight with the baby and Brian is coming tomorrow with the kids."

"God, I haven't seen them in awhile." 

"Yes, well be sure to say hello to them," she said as she left the room.

"Who's Felicia?" Max asked.

"Aunt Meredith's daughter and Katie's sister. And Brian was married to my sister Gwen and he's coming with their two kids, Trevor and Tamera. The dreaded T 'n' T." he said chuckling. 

Max thought she saw his eyes begin to tear when he mentioned his sister.

__

What happened to her? He gets really upset every time his family is mentioned.

Max's thoughts were interrupted when Katie walked into the room,

"Hey Max. Ready to go?"

Max nodded.

"Um.. Katie, before you two leave can I talk to you for a minute?" Logan asked.

"Sure," she said moving near him, "Excuse us Max."

__

He's probably still worried about her knowing our little *secret*, Max thought, continuing to look around the room.

"Yeah. Okay. No problem. I'll guess we'll see you later then," Katie said 

"Bye," Max said to Logan quickly kissing him on the cheek, causing a slight shiver from him.

__

What was that for? he wondered.

"Just in case any of your aunt's servants are watching," she whispered to him.

"Of course. I'll see you later," he called wheeling out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sophie's Dress Shop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thirty-five minutes later, Katie and Max arrived at the shop. 

__

This is nothing like the 'little dress shop' Katie seemed to be explain not so long ago. Max thought.

The 'little shop' was actually a big store that had all sorts of formal wear in it. Everything from shoes, to dresses, to shawls, to gloves could be found on the shelves of the boutique. 

"There are tons of dresses for you to choose from," Katie called leading Max into another part of the store.

Max tried on a few dresses and then decided that she didn't like anything she had seen yet.

__

This is gonna be harder than I thought. 

"Hey Max," Katie called from behind yet another row of dresses, "Come here for a second."

Max meandered her way through millions of dresses before she could find her. Katie was holding in her hand a gold, long dress.

"You *have* to try this on."

So, Max took the dress and went inside one of the little dressing rooms.

__

This just keeps worse, doesn't it. Max thought as she pulled the fluffy pink curtain closed.

Five minutes later, Max exited the room. The dress fit her to near perfection accenting the *extremely* thin straps that left most of her back bare. But, the most striking aspect of it was the lower bodice, where the sides of the dress were laced up and pulled together by strappy pieces of fabric that tied in back.

"Omigod!" Katie exclaimed, "You look absolutely stunning! Logan is gonna die when he sees you in this," she squealed.

__

Just *wait* until he sees her in this. He'll forget about his whole 'we're just friends theory'.

"We told you. There's nothing going on between us," Max insisted.

"Oh don't be too sure of yourself."

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh come on. I see the way he looks at you, and it is **not** just acting," she told Max. 

__

Ya know, this girl is really stubborn. How in the world can someone be *so* oblivious? Katie thought.

"Or the way he's always smiling when you're around. Not to mention, that no one's seen him this happy since before his parents and sister died."

This lured Max into the conversation. She had been trying to figure out what happened to them for the longest time.

"What happened to them?"

Katie looked up, surprised that Max didn't know, after all, it had been in every newspaper in Seattle.

"He never told you?"

"No. Every time I brought it up with Logan his eyes get this look in the, so I just dropped it," Max said with a heavy heart.

"I've seen it before, that look in his eyes, and you know what? You're the only person I know who can make it go away."

Max retreated to the dressing room.

"Max. Open your eyes. You are not just his friend," Katie yelled from the other side of the door, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you liked him as well.

Inside the dressing room, Max was finding it difficult to untie the back of the dress.

__

What is wrong with this thing? Or is it my fingers? she wondered. For some reason she couldn't concentrate on anything. That last conversation was not helping to keep their relationship strictly platonic. 

After a couple minutes of dueling with the stubborn straps, Max finally managed to untangle them.

Meanwhile, Katie had been talking on a cell phone, far from Max, in the back of the store in a hushed voice,

"Okay. Yeah. I think she's gonna buy one, yeah, it's gold. Okay. Yeah. We'll stop there next and pick it up. I'll give it to you first chance I have when we get back. Okay. Okay, I gotta go she's getting out of the dressing room. Okay. Bye. Good-bye." And she snapped her cell phone shut and threw it in her purse with just enough time left to run to the other side of the store and say,

"So, are you gonna buy it?"

Max contemplated over the idea as Katie stood there nodding her head and grinning like an idiot trying to persuade her. 

"Fine," Max relented. 

"Yes!" Katie shrieked as she ran off to show Max the pair of shoes that she thought were a perfect match, leaving Max thinking, _Here we go again._

About 45 minutes and three shopping bags later, Max and Katie were outside and walking down the street. Katie had convinced Max to "accessorize" her outfit. 

"Hey," Katie said nudging Max's arm, "I have to stop here and pick up a gift for a friend. You don't mind do you?" she said pointing to a jewelry shop on their left.

Max shook her head as she followed the girl into the shop.

"Why don't you look around for a few minutes."

"Okay," Max answered as she started walking around. 

The store was filled with all sorts of little trinkets. There were earrings and necklaces with precious stones set in them. Rings and bracelets of gold and platinum. Things Max didn't usually see unless she was trying to sell them on the black market. 

At the same time as Max was looking around the store, Katie was whispering to the clerk, 

"I'm here to pick up a gift for...." she said in French.

A few minutes later, they were out on the street again. This time, Katie was holding a silver bag in her hand. 

"Oh look!," she yelled pointing to a street corner.

"A street fair and look! There's a fortune teller. Let's go get our fortunes read," she snickered.

"I'm not really into that kind of stuff." 

"Oh come on," Katie said dragging Max by the arm.

It wasn't long, before Max was underneath a small emerald tent across from an old lady.

__

Oh gross. She smells like cheap perfume.

Atop the woman's head was a purple turban on her head and in front of her sat a crystal ball on an old wooden table.

__

Oh brother.

The elderly woman leaned over the table and peered into the crystal ornament.

"You overestimate yourself, my dear," she croaked, "You think you're *so* smart and strong that nothing as trivial as feelings can ever hurt you."

__

Oh really, Max thought doubtfully_._

"But you're wrong, my child. You're not strong or smart and they can and will hurt you. The truth is, you're cold and sick and silly," she said fiercely, "You are cold, because you are alone. There is no fire burning in *your* heart. You are sick, because the emotions that can warm your cold heart stay far away from you. And you are silly, because try as they might, you won't allow these feelings in. Stopping them at the front door and crushing them one by one," the old woman looked up at the girl, "Let yourself feel Max. Let yourself love."

The old woman bent over the crystal ball as her expression changed completely.

"Ah, but what is this I see?" 

She seemed surprised and stared even closer into it, 

"Hmmmm. This was not here before. No. This is new. This is new," she muttered over and over to herself.

"What is it," Max asked, playing along, but clearly not believing a word the woman was saying.

"Try as you might, those feelings seem to have snuck in. You are already in love, my dear. Although you may not know it, you are in love."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Max said fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Yes. You do. Why don't you admit it?" she asked, "Are you afraid?" she paused for a moment to study Max's face, "Yes. Fear. That's what it is."

"I'm not afraid of anything," Max insisted.

"Oh no, you may not be afraid of fighting or being robbed or that sort of thing, but you do fear love. You think it will make you weak, but in truth, my child it makes you much stronger."

Max sat there staring at the old woman. She couldn't help but feel that there was some truth in what she was saying and it was starting to bother her.

"You know what I'm talking about," the gypsy said beginning to raise her voice, "More importantly, you know who I'm talking about."

__

Logan. Max thought quickly, the name flickering through her mind. In and out, like a candle being blown out. In spite of that, her expression remained the same.

"Yes," the old lady said bringing Max back to reality, "Him. Reach out to him Max. Let him know you care. If you cannot, then you are destined to live a life of ice. Wishes and regrets will consume you. Begone now my dear and think about what I have said, but most importantly, think of what you can do."

Max shuddered at the woman's words.

"Okay. Well thank you," she said paying the woman and getting out of there as swiftly as possible.

__

People like that just creep me out. In love. Ha. Yeah right. 

Soon, Katie emerged from the tent, leaving Max little time to that thought, and it was soon dismissed. 

"So. What'd she try to tell you," Max asked skeptically.

"Oh some tall, blond stranger is gonna sweep me off my feet in the future," she said doubtfully, I didn't believe a word of it of course, but it's still funny to hear what those crazy old loons have to say."

__

Weird, Max thought, _I never *told* her mine name and she still knew that it was...._

Max just laughed softly to herself, shaking her head, at the weird friend she had just made as they headed up the hill toward the girl's house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GREAT HALL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the two girls returned to the manor around 2:00 P.M. 

"I'm just gonna go throw this in my room. I'll be right back," Katie said pointing to the bag from the jeweler's.

"Okay," Max said as she began to walk around the hall. She heard the sound of voices coming from behind one of the nearby doors. Max recognized the voice of Logan's aunt and another woman, nodoubtedly younger than the other lady, whom Max could only assume was Felicia.

"You said that Logan came in last night?" the latter inquired.

"Yes. He and his girlfriend Max," Meredith said disappointedly.

"I heard about the accident. How's he doing?"

Max shivered when she heard that. *The accident*

"As well as can be expected with all that's going on."

"And what about the girl. What was her name?"

"Max?"

"Yeah. Max. What's she like?"

__

Yeah. Come on Aunt Meredith. What do you think of sweet, little Max. 

"Oh well...she's not like the rest of us."

__

Well at least you got that part right. 

But, Max was completely taken aback by this comment:

"Well, if you ask me; she's nothing but a piece of trash. The only thing she's in love with is Logan's money."

"Nothing like Valerie. Now those two were perfect for each other. Such an adorable couple they made. But not Max. She's nothing but a little gold digger and Logan deserves better than her."

Max's temper flared at Mrs. Wrobelski's crude vulgarity of speech.

__

A little gold digger? Only in love with his money? Puh-lease. That self-centered, arrogant, stuck-up, little.. 

Fortunately, Max's ill-mannered opinions were interrupted by Katie's voice.

While Max was eavesdropping, Katie had walked down a nearby hallway to Logan, who was eagerly waiting for her. 

"Here," she said giving him the silver jewelry bag.

"Thanks. I thought I'd get Max something for coming with me."

Katie rolled her eyes.

__

He's as bad as she is. Oblivious. Completely and totally unaware. 

"Please. As if that's the only reason. You like her. Don't you?," she asked knowingly.

"Who? Max?" he asked in bewilderment.

"No. The Easter bunny," Katie replied sarcastically.

"We're are just friends," he assured her. 

"Okay. Fine, if you say so.." Katie relented.

__

One of these days, she thought, _I am going to fix them up._

The whole situation reminded her of that old song:

_______________________________

__

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, 

Make me up match,

Find me a find, 

Catch me a catch.

_______________________________

__

Hehe. This is going to be interesting.

She walked back into the Great Hall to find Max leaning near a door.

"Okay," she said happily, "All set. Thanks for coming with me today."

"No problem," Max said heading toward the door that lead to her room.

"Max. Do me a favor and remind Logan that Felicia wants to see you two later."

__

I'll bet she does.

"Okay," Max said heading down the hallway to her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max and Logan's Room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Max was talking to his cousin, Logan had wheeled himself back to this room with the bag from Katie hidden in his jacket pocket. When he got back to his room, he removed a gold box from the bag which he carefully opened the closet door and hid the box inside one of his suitcases and quickly closed it as he heard footsteps.

Moments later, Max walked into the room, opened the closet and hung the new dress. Next, she proceeded to drop the rest of her bags on the floor and slumped into the mahogany chair near the window dishearteningly.

"Long day?" Logan asked.

"Something like that," Max said sullenly.

"You okay?" Logan asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Max assured him, smiling, "Katie said that you're cousin Felicia wants to see you later today."

"Okay. So what do you think of her?"

"Who? Katie or Felicia?"

"Katie."

"She's different. But for some strange, little reason, I think I like her. Kinda reminds me of Original Cindy," she said recalling what she'd said before:

__

You are *not* just his friend.

"Yeah I see the parallel there," Logan answered, his blue beyond blue eyes twinkling as he remembered his last conversation with his cousin:

__

You like her. Don't you?

It didn't take Max and Logan long to forget about Katie's assumptions and they spent quite sometime, laughing and talking about what they did that day before going for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GREAT HALL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, Logan and Max were making their way back to their room when they were stopped by Logan's Aunt Meredith.

"Oh Logan. Come here for a moment will you," his aunt asked.

Logan wheeled his chair over to his aunt as Max followed behind.

__

Well if it isn't Ms. Talkin-Behind-Your-Back Wrobleski, Max thought.

"Felicia would like to see you I believe. She and Katie are in the parlor."

"Thanks," Logan said as he began to maneuver his wheelchair through the narrow hallway that led to the parlor.

"Hey!" Katie called, waving, as Max and Logan entered the room.

"Logan, I haven't seen you in ages!" a girl, who resembled Katie quite a bit, gushed.

"Hi," Logan said leaning forward to give his cousin a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, "And who's this?" he asked gesturing toward the baby in the girl's arms.

"This is my little Zoë."

"She's beautiful," Max said. The girl looked up at Max as though she had forgotten that she was even in the room with them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. Hi. I'm Felicia. You must be Max," she said shaking Max's hand.

"Yes."

"Well it's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

__

I bet you did, Max thought feigning a pleasant smile.

Felicia looked down at the baby.

"She is cute isn't she," she said looking at Max. Suddenly, it seemed as though she got an idea, "Would you like to hold her?"

"Umm....Yeah. Sure. May I?"

"Sure," she said handing her the infant.

Logan had been sitting there the whole time watching the two women talk for the past ten minutes, but at that point, it was like he saw Max transform before his own eyes. He couldn't help but stare at her. She looked so innocent there holding the child, that even he had to stop and catch his breath.

__

This can't be the same girl that's my cold, impassive sidekick in Seattle. *This* Max is just so much older, so mature, so much more....maternal? I mean just look at her. The way she's smiling. The way she seems so comfortable with a kid in her arms. The girl will make a great mom someday. 

Unfortunately for Logan, his thoughts were interrupted by the chiming of the old grandfather clock in the Great Hall. Eleven times it chimed, before Katie spoke up.

"Well, I think it's time for us to get some sleep. Besides, I don't think we want to risk waking someone up." 

"What did Logan fall asleep again on us?" Max asked jokingly.

"Come on Logan wake up," she teased.

"Ha ha," he replied dryly,

"No, not me," he said pointing to the child in Max's arms. Little Zoë had fallen asleep.

"Well I guess your right," Felicia started as she took the baby from Max, "It was nice seeing you all. Goodnight."

"'Night," Max whispered as she and Logan left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MAX AND LOGAN'S ROOM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, you should get some rest. You have to be at that doctor's office by what time tomorrow?" Max asked Logan who was typing furiously on his laptop. He had spent the past hour trying to figure out what was going on in Seattle. He had discovered that Lydecker still had the entire Seattle PD looking for Max.

"Um..." he said not even looking up from the computer, "10:30 I think."

He closed his computer and put it on the dresser and looked up at Max who was moving her neck 

back and forth.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I just pulled something today trying on all those dresses," she said laughing a little.

"Come here for a second," Logan said pointing to her side of the bed. 

Max walked over and cautiously sat down. Max's heart skipped a beat as Logan began massaging her 

shoulders. And for just a second, she forgot about the world around her. When he stopped, Max 

leaned back against his chest.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

"You're coming with me tomorrow right?" 

All of a sudden, that feeling that Max had felt the night before returned. 

__

What's wrong with me? I should say no. I'm beginning to think that I should've said no to this whole 

trip. Who knows what might happen between us? Okay Max. Just tell him no. Make up some excuse 

like you would if you were talking to Normal.

"Do you want me to?" she asked.

_Shit. Max why did you say that? _

She couldn't help feeling like a rubber band. And, every time she was near him, it was like she was 

being stretched in two different directions. Sooner or later she was going to snap. And when that 

happened, who knows what else could.

"Yeah," Logan answered, swallowing hard, "It would be nice to have someone there."

And then it happened. Their eyes met. And once again the rubber band was stretched. 

Max smiled at him as she moved over to her half of the bed, "I'll be there."

"Great."

"'Night Max."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

As Logan closed his eyes and tried to sleep, something kept haunting him in the back of his mind and 

it scared him. He feared that he was falling for the girl lying beside him.

And as for Max. The words of the fortune teller echoed in her head. 

__

Think about what you can do.

And she did. She did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part VIII to come soon. What did you think????? Too romantic?? Please let me know. ~Lissa


	8. Just Acting??: Part VIII

Just Acting??: Part VIII

by Lissa Mahon

Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah, I don't own Max or Logan, blah, blah, blah....

Authors Note: I'm sorry, but I couldn't have this beta read, because each time I tried to send it, my email wouldn't work, so any constructive criticism is much appreciated. Thx. ~Lissa,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max and Logan's Room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan awoke to the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. A few minutes later, the water stopped. He sat up in the bed lack of anything else to do and glanced at the clock. 9:18. Not much more than an hour left until his appointment. The thought scared the hell out of him. He'd had one too many bad experiences.

__

Too many painful memories. Gwen and Shannon....

Logan looked up as the handle jingled and the door opened to reveal Max. Clad in black leather pants and a tight magenta turtleneck sweater, just the sight of her sent Logan's heart racing a million miles per hour.

__

She must be trying to kill me, he thought.

Luckily, he was able to regain composure quickly and managed to greet her.

"Morning," he said giving her an absolutely charming smile.

__

God I hate when he looks like that. I just feel like going over there and...

Max shook her head as though to dismiss her thoughts. She smiled back and answered,

"Hey." 

Logan studied her face. She seemed different today. Happier. Nicer.

"Bathroom's free," she said pointing to the door behind her. 

Max helped him into his wheelchair and he disappeared into the bathroom.

Inside, Max's scent lingered in the air. Logan looked around and saw that the marble surrounding the sink was covered by an array of makeup and hair products. He laughed a little to himself.

__

She really is just a girl isn't she. 

Logan continued to let his thoughts wander as he got ready for the coming day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Doctor's Office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Less than an hour later, Logan and Max were sitting inside the waiting room of Dr. Westbank's office. Max glanced over at Logan who seemed to lost in his own little world.

__

He looks so tense, Max thought as she watched him wringing his hands. She absently reached out and took one of his nervous hands in her own, diverting his attention.

Logan flinched at the touch of her fingertips to his palm and looked up at Max's face, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones. 

Max took a breath, about to say something to him, when their moment of silent bonding was interrupted of by the doctor's receptionist telling Logan that the doctor was ready to see him.

They followed the woman down a long corridor to a small room. On one side of the room was what looked like your average examination room. The usual medical supplies adorned the majority of the countertop. But, the opposite side of the room was more like an office for discussions.

At the same time as the two Americans entered the room, a tall, bald man came in as well.

"Hi, Mr. Cale. It's nice to meet you. I'm George Westbank," the man said smiling and moving to shake Logan's hand. He seemed like your typical doctor: knowledgeable and confident.

"Please, call me Logan. And this is my," he paused for a moment to glance at Max, "girlfriend, Max," he said gesturing to her.

__

My girlfriend. I wish I had the opportunity to say *that* more often.

"Hi," Max said innocently. Anyone who didn't know her would have thought that she was just you average, everyday, nice girl. Boy were they wrong.

"Well," the doctor began looking from Max to Logan again, "Logan, aren't you the lucky one."

"Yes, I guess I am" Logan said chuckling a little.

__

Is he blushing? Max wondered as she watch a wave of crimson go across his face. Then, he turned and gave her a sheepish grin.

__

Maintain composure, Max. You almost lost it out there. Remember: you're just acting.

"Please," the doctor started, gesturing to a chair near the desk on the far side of the room, "take a seat. Let's just take a moment to talk."

Max graciously accepted the offer and sat down in the chair as Logan wheeled his chair next to her. The doctor typed diligently at his computer for a few moments before looking back at the couple.

"Okay, Logan, from what I understand, you suffer from paraplegia due to a shooting accident?" he asked.

"Umm yes," he replied staring at the floor in order to avoid looking at Max.

__

What is he embarrassed? she wondered, _He doesn't want me to hear about his disability? Is that it?_

Max decided that she was going to find the answer to her question and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Logan glanced up at Max, whose hand remained on his shoulder. As their eyes met, that imaginary rubber band of Max's was stretched again. Max studied his countenance for a second. There was something in those precious blue eyes of his that she wasn't used to seeing.

__

He's not embarrassed. He's scared, she thought. She wanted like hell to tell him that everything would be okay.

Unfortunately, for the second time that day, they were interrupted. This time, by the doctor, who had started talking again and caused them to break their gaze.

"Well, here's what I'd like to do. First of all, I'd like a moment to examine Logan's back, so, Max, if you'll just wait outside for a little while, I'll call you in later."

Max hesitantly rose from her seat. She didn't really want to leave him.

__

Remember, you're just *acting* like his girlfriend, she thought to herself. It was both a reminder and a warning.

Before leaving the room, she bent down to his level and left a tiny kiss on his cheek, before leaning in even closer to whisper,   


"Don't worry," in his ear. Logan stared at her for a few moments and she flashed him a reassuring smile before leaving.

As she moved away, Logan watched her closely. He had been correct when he had said that there was something different about her today.

Max sat in the waiting room for fifteen minutes until the doctor came out.

"Max. You can come back in now. I'm just going to look over a few files and be back in a couple of minutes."

She nodded as she reentered the room to see Logan sitting in his wheelchair pulling a shirt over his head. 

__

God, he's gorgeous. He should have his shirt off more often, she thought as the little voice in her head silently scolded her,

__

It's all just phony sentimentality, Max. You can't have these feelings for him. You just can't.

She finally snapped out of her reverie and realized that she still hadn't said anything to him.

"It'll all work out. Don't worry," she reassured him.

Logan seemed to doubt her as he said in a no-nonsense voice,

"You don't no that, Max. No one does." 

Luckily for them, Dr. Westbank returned in time to interrupt what was most likely going to be an argument. Logan studied his face, but couldn't quite guess what he was going to say. 

Max, again, took his hand in hears hoping to calm him down a little and to preserve the act that she was his girlfriend.

"Well, Logan," the doctor began looking up at his patient, "I've gone over your records and I understand that a few months ago, you had an emergency operation, because a stray bullet in your back had migrated. Correct?"

Max could feel his pulse quicken as he nodded his head in agreement. Logan's thoughts darted back to the last time he and Max had been in a hospital.

__

The kiss.... The music.....

Again, the doctor started talking,

"Well, then, you are indeed a possible candidate for this surgery. However, the chance of success is slightly less due to the complication."

All of the color suddenly drained from Logan's face.

"How much less?" he asked, his voice a little softer than usual.

"Well, instead of their being a 70% chance of success, you now have a 55% chance that the surgery will go well." 

Max felt so bad for him at that moment. She knew that, although he hadn't said so, he had been excited about the possibiliyy of walking again.

__

It's a good thing we're not alone, Max thought, _I don't know if I could have found the strength to prevent myself from going over to him and putting my arms around him and stroking that funny hair of his and telling him that everything would be okay. _

God, Max, you've really got to stopt thinking like this, she added to her chaos of thoughts.

Meanwhile, as Max was battling her thoughts, Logan was having trouble with his own.

__

Only a 55% percent chance that it'll work. If it doesn't, I may never walk again. But, if I don't go through with the surgery, I may still be able to walk again someday. But, by then, Max will be long gone. She'll most likely have to leave when we get back to Seattle and I'll probably never see her again. I don't want her only memories of me to be this helpless guy in a wheelchair, he thought.

"What exactly happens during this surgery?" Logan asked trying to sound perfectly calm.

__

God, this is practically his entire life he's talking about. How can he talk like it's no big dealio? Was he always like this? Or is it just a recent development? Max wondered.

"First, we insert two eight inch steel rods into your back to support what's left of your spine," the doctor began.

Logan flinched a little at this.

__

Steel rods. Just lovely.

"and then, we fuse the broken bits of you spine back togethe. Then, certain steroids will stimulate the nerves back into working order. It was once actually a well-known technique in the United States. Actually saved a few major stars' lives back in the 1990s. Now, I'm afraid it's become practically forgotten," he said.

__

And once again, I'd like to thank the terrorists that set off the pulse. You guys seemed to have found yet another way to screw up my life, Logan thought to himself bitterly, _Oh well, like Max says, 'It's all good'. _

"If it is successful, how long will it be before I can walk again?" he asked causing Max to come out of her little world of thoughts.

"Well, if you've been keeping up with your therapy, modern medicine will have you back on your feet in about a week," Dr. Westbank answered matter-of-factly.

__

One week. One week and I can be walking. I could be in the wedding with Max. Dance with her at the parties. I could have that before she leaves for good. Or, I might still be in this goddamn chair, or even worse still, dead. And then she'll really be gone. Off to some place on the other side of the planet most likely. Still. It's worth the risk if I can just have those few days.

"When's the earliest time I can go in?" Logan asked, causing Max's head to bolt up and her eyes to fix themselves on his face.

"Well tomorrow morning if you like."

"I'll be there," Logan answered as he gripped Max's hand even tighter. This time, she as the one to flinch, forgetting that their hands were still linked together. Her mind had been elsewhere for the past few minutes.

__

Tomorrow, Logan thought, _will decide rest of my life._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Hall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan and Max arrived back at Mrs. Wrobleski's and entered the Great Hall to hear the sounds of high-pitched voices.

"Uncle Logan. Uncle Logan," they yelled. 

Max dilated her eyes to see two little kids running down on of the hallways.

A blue-eyed boy of maybe four soon slid across most of the hall and ended up at Logan's feet just as a brown-haired girl of seven flung her arms around his neck. A little surprised by the children's "attack", Logan laughed a little as he returned the hug.

"Well," he started looking at the two energetic kids standing in front of him, "How are my favorite niece and nephew?" he asked, a smile on his face from ear to ear.

__

Try to at least act happy Logan. These kids already have it tough. Just put on a good show.

"Uncle Logan," the girl whined, "We're your *only* niece and nephew."

Logan made a silly face at her. She laughed. 

__

Look at him, Max thought as she watched the family with a smile on her face, _ He's so good with kids. He's like one of those people from those old movies from like the 1990s or something. He's even got the bad jokes._

"Hey you guys, I want you to meet someone," he said grabbing Max's wrist and pulling her from behind his chair, not noticing her rapid pulse.

"This is my friend Max," he said.

Max had never really had any experience with children. 

__

Oh well. I guess I can just do what I always do. Make it up as I go along, she thought to herself.

"Hi there," she said waving to them.

"Hi," the little boy said shyly as his sister waved.

Logan looked up at her. Max did the best to avoid his eyes, afraid of what could happen if she looked into them.

"Max, these are my sister Gwen's kids; Tamera and Trevor," he said pointing to them as he said their name. 

All of a sudden, Trevor seemed to realize that Logan was in a wheelchair and asked in a childlike voice,

"Uncle Logan, what happened?" 

Just then, a red-haired man in his mid-30s came into the room, preventing him from answering the boy's question. Max watched as relief filled Logan's face.

"Logan," the man said, "I haven't seen you in a long time."

Logan took a deep breath and turned to Max, 

"Max, this is my brother-in-law, Brian."

The man put his hand out to shake hers.

"So, how's the world of journalism?"

"Good. Keeping me on my toes," he said looking down at his legs with a sad laugh.

"Yeah. I heard," Brian said, not knowing what else to say, "Umm... you know what? Why don't you two come to dinner with me and the kids tonight? Give them some time with you," he asked.

Logan glanced at Max who gave him a look that said that it was his decision.

"Yeah. Great," Logan answered as he and Max followed Brian and the kids.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Hall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived back at the manor around 8:30. At this time, Tamera asked to be excused to retrieve something from her bedroom. She returned later with a paper in her hand. Logan recognized it almost immediately to be sheet music.

The girl's father looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears as she began to speak,

"Dad found this i n the attic the other day and says that it belonged to our mom. We asked him what it sounded like, but he said that you were theonly one that he knew that could play it."

Max looked around the room. The girl's brother was wiping tears away from his face, her father, looking off in another direction, his face obscure from view, and even Loggan appeared somewhat misty-eyed.

Brian looked back at Logan,

"So, how about it?" he asked.

Logan's eyes rested on the music and he gently lifted it from his niece's fingertips and opened it up. Memories filled his head. He and his sister as children taking turns at the piano. He glanced at it for a moment, before rolling his chair into another room.

As Max walked in, her eyes rested upon an elegant, Baby Grand piano.

Brian stepped forward and removed the piano bench, so Logan had room to wheel his chair into the space.

When he had done so, Logan lifted the score up onto the music stand and opened it up. He gazed down at the black and white keys before him and gingerly ran his fingers over them.

__

It's been so long....

Almost instantaneously, he began to play. Max watched as his fingers danced across the keys, as nimble as they were on the keyboard of his computer.

Then, something struck Max in her chest. She knew this song. She walked over behind Logan and looked up at the name of the piece.

__

Valse Triste, she read to herself.

Meanwhile, Logan was so absorbed in what he was doing that he had forgotten that there was anyone else in the room. He had just begun playing and soon -like it always had- the music had control of his soul. 

By the time he finished the piece, Logan's whole body was trembling. A great silence fell across the room. It was a long time before anyone said anything.

Brian was the one to break the silence.

Clearing his throat, he said, sounding somewhat choked up, "I think we should all get some rest. Guys," he said referring to his kids, "Why don't you say goodnight to your uncle and Max."

"'Night Uncle Logan," the boy whispered, his face tear-stained.

"Goodnight," he replied as he and Max left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max and Logan's Room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they returned to their room, Logan went immediately to his computer. Knowing that he was hurting and not wanting to say the wrong thing, Max decided to sit and think for a while.

She smiled to herself as she thought about dinner.

__

"So, Logan, how did you and Max meet?" Brian had asked.

"Well," Logan began, "Max was interested in a piece of artwork I owned," he had answered, looking out of the corner of his eye at Max, silently telling her to go along with the story.

"Oh, a painting?" he asked.

"No," Max had said, a smile spreading across her lips, "a statue actually."

"Oh," Brian had replied, nodding approvingly, "So, Max, did you buy it or.."

"It was an absolute steal," she had announced. 

Next to her, Logan nearly choked on his drink.

Max laughed quietly to herself as she remembered that. Then, Logan closed his computer and wheeled his chair over near Max. He looked up at her, his big, blue eyes filled with sorrow.

"Max," he began, clearing his throat, "If anything happens to me tomorrow, there's a will in a draw in my bedroom and Bling knows what to do with the Informant Net." 

By the time he had finished his sentence, his voice was barely a whisper.

"Logan, don't talk like that. Nothing's going to happen to you," Max said reassuringly.

"I've told you a thousand times, Max, you don't know that," he said finally looking up at her.

Their eyes met and Logan quickly looked away. 

"Besides," he murmured quietly, "it's not like anyone will miss me anyway."

__

Is he depressed or is it just me? Max wondered.

"Okay," she began getting out of her seat and sitting on the edge of Logan's wheelchair, "that's it, scoot over."

She put her hands around the back of his head, forcing him to look up at her.

"A lot of things are going to happen in that hospital tomorrow, but you dying is not one of those. Besides," she said, her voice growing softer as she looked even deeper into his eyes, "I'd miss you."

Then, it happened, Logan leaned in the few extra inches and brushed his lips against hers. Just a light, quick kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. He moved his face away from hers and looked at her for a moment. She removed her hands from the back of his head and retreated to her seat.

__

And you've scared her away. Good going, Cale.

"There's just too many bad memories," he said.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's just that, being here and seeing everyone brings back all these memories that I've tried to forget. About three years ago, my parents were supposed to meet me and Gwen at their cabin," he started. Max watched as his eyes turned an icy sort of blue.

"For some reason, I don't remember why, Gwen was driving up with them. My dad had a lot of enemies and while they were on their way up to the cabin, someone ran them off the road. The car flipped over and my parents died instantly. But, Gwen, she made it to the hospital. I talked to her for a few minutes. And then, a flood of doctors rushed in and I- She-" he couldn't even finish the sentence.

Logan closed his eyes tightly for a moment or two and took a deep breath, before he opened them and started to talk again. 

__

Come on, Logan. Don't do this to yourself. You don't have to tell her anything.

Max got and sat back down next to him again. 

"Did you know that Val and I had a baby?" he asked looking up at her.

__

Logan. A father? she thought to herself. 

"A girl. Her name was Shannon. She was born premature and after a week-" 

Max watched as tears welled up in his eyes.

"She was gone too. After that, Val started drinking and everything just went downhill. Three years later, I lost my parents and my sister," he said looking up at Max. She could see that he was trying hard not to cry. 

"Why do I lose everyone I love?" he asked her. 

__

That's it, Max thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thirty Minutes Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After talking a little more, Max convinced Logan that he should get some rest.

Max crawled into the bed.

"Goodnight, Logan," she whispered.

"G'night."

__

Wait a second, Max thought as she turned around and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek.

__

What was that for? he wondered, not about to ask in cause she decided to take it back. 

"It'll all work out," she said.

"'Night, Max."

"'Night."

__

It'll all work out, she told herself,_ Will it?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max sat in the waiting room of the hospital with Katie and her mother. She looked around her at the bright white walls and the pale blue chairs. Why did hospitals always have this sort of fake cheerfulness in them? 

They had been waiting there for about 4 hours already, when the doctor came out. Max could tell by the morose look on his face that he didn't have good news.

__

No, she thought, _That's not what he's going to say, Max._ _Don't think like that. He's fine. Really he is._

"I'm sorry," Dr. Westbank started, "We did all that we could, but he didn't make it."

Max felt a sharp pain go through her chest. _NO,_ she screamed inside of her head.

And then, the tears started as she forgot about everything she had learned at Manticore and began crying hysterically.

Katie rushed over and gave her hug, crying as well.

__

Noooooooo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max bolted straight up in the bed, tears streaming down her face. She looked to her right to find Logan sleeping peacefully.

__

It was just a dream, Max. It was just a dream.

She moved a little closer to him.After that, she couldn't fall back asleep, so she just sat there and watched him sleep for the rest of the night.

__

It'll all work out, Max. It'll all work out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reviews? Comments?...


	9. Just Acting??: Part IX

Just Acting??: Part IX

By Lissa Mahon

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own Max and Logan so don't sue me cause I don't have anything you want. 

Author's Note: Okay, for the record I would like to say that I came up with this idea before any spoilers were out for _Art Attack_, so this is *not* another version of that episode. James Cameron must be stealing my story. LoL. Sorry this one took so long to write, but I've been sick with pneumonia for the past two weeks and had to make up a ton of stuff in school. Thanx to Sabrina the Book Witch for beta reading this for me! Thanx, Boo!!! If anyone else wants to help beta read my next chapter let me know in a review. A writer I know always said to get as many opinions as possible. 

And now (drum roll please -Hehe I think that medicine's taking effect) the story:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max and Logan's Room~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their room was filled with great serenity as the little hand of the clock moved to cover the one, making the timepiece read 8:10. Logan Cale slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He looked at his side of the room as far as he could see without his glasses on. Unlike the past two mornings, he didn't hear the shower running in the bathroom. Something else was peculiar as well, the bed seemed warmer than usual too. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the glasses resting there. After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes a few times, he put the glasses on his face. He then proceeded to turn toward the brown-eyed girl who had been sitting next to him.

Max hadn't been able to fall asleep again after the nightmare she'd had the night before and since she didn't really need the rest, had given up completely, spending the rest of the night watching Logan sleep. Her heartbeat, which became quite speedy after the phantasma, was slowing down considerably as she watched his chest rise and fall with his steady breathing. The rest of the night had been peaceful and Max had showered and dressed early. Since then, she returned to her place in bed. 

And now there she was, sitting atop the covers propped up by her hands, leaning against the wooden back of the bed, her legs stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. She had been watching Logan for some time before he woke up, but unlike the past two days, she hadn't been able to look away. He was like an addictive drug, sooner or later you were hooked.

"Hey," Logan said in a raspy voice as he woke up.

"Hey," Max said back as a tiny smile spread across her face. It now appeared that neither of them had the strength to look away. The day before, something had happened between them. Something mysterious and unstoppable.

And so, there they stayed, just sitting there, staring at each other. They seemed absolutely mesmerized by each other, yet neither had the courage to say anything at the time. 

It wasn't until much later, that Max decided to get up. She then realized just how close they had been, as her hand brush gently over his arm. The tension in the room was nearly unbearable. 

Once Logan had gone into the bathroom, Max was finally able to think.

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//What in the hell was I thinking back there? // she scolded herself._   
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//It's Logan. It's just Logan,// she thought trying to dismiss the feelings growing inside her when another thought entered her mind,

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//After today...I might not see him again if he...//

She cut her thoughts short for the time being, afraid that the tears in her eyes would start falling. But, she wasn't getting rid of that thought so easily. It'd return...soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been two hours since the last scene and Max and Logan were now at Montreal's finest hospital. Like most hospitals, it had bright white walls and metal chairs of a lively blue color. But, like most hospitals, it also gave off a that sense of false cheerfulness that soon makes one apprehensive. 

The doctor had taken Logan away about five minutes eariler and Max was now sandwiched between Katie and her mother, who had insisted upon coming. The operation was supposed to last five hours, but Max knew that she wouldn't be able to sit there the entire time. Sooner or later, her previous thoughts would come back to haunt her. 

Shortly after sitting down, Max heard the squeaking sound of a hospital bed and peered down the long hallway that connected the waiting room to the O.R. What she saw was Logan being wheeled toward the operating room by a nurse, a short, plump, middle-aged woman. 

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//I never said good-bye,// Max thought.

And without further thought, she was on her feet and running toward him.

"Max, what in the world are you doing?" Mrs. Wrobleski shouted to her, absolutely horrified by her behavior. 

But Max was gone completely, her mind totally lost in what she was doing. 

At the time, Logan had been waiting rather nervously for the nurse to come and give him the anesthetic. When she finally came and gave him the drug, he began drifting in and out of consciousness, barely able to distinguish what was going on. 

"Logan!" someone yelled from the opposite end of the corridor. 

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//Max?// he wondered semi-consciously as he heard the familiar voice. Logan tried to lift his head enough to see the person's face, but his effort was in vain as he had no strength left. 

"Logan!" the voice called once more, this time much closer. He could hear the voice much clearer now. It was indeed Max. 

"Max," he said hoarsely reaching for her hand.

"Hey," she replied bending down so he could see her better. As soon as he saw her, his spirits were immediately uplifted.

Both were beyond thinking at this point; knowing that this singular moment could be their last together, forever. 

So, after putting anything and everything Manticore behind her, Max took his hand in hers as he held on for life. 

The nurse, who really knew how to spoil the moment interrupted their trance, telling Max that she didn't have much time because the anesthetic would put him to sleep soon.

And with that, they were left alone in the middle of the lengthy, white hallway, hand in hand. Time just seemed to freeze for an instant or so as Logan whispered her name. 

"Yeah?" she asked not knowing what else to say. She was so incredibly confused; she just couldn't explain how she felt. There was just this bundle of emotions building up inside of her that just yearned to be released. 

"Hold my glasses for me?" Logan asked giving Max a weak chuckle, the medicine starting to take effect. He handed the spectacles to her. Max took them from his hand and put them on her own face, There was just something about her appearance with them on. Maybe because they belonged to him or maybe just because deep inside, he knew how unbelievably gorgeous she was. Nonetheless, there was definitely something about the way she was looking at him. 

"I won't let them out of my sight," she said, smiling at her bad joke. And that was it. That was the answer to Logan's puzzle.

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//She's smiling.//

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/Max don't do this to yourself. You can't become emotionally attatched like this./

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//That's it. Stop there Logan. You've had one too many relationships that have started out well and turned ugly. You don't need another to add to the pile.//

Just then, as they were about to attempt to express their deeper feelings for each other, the nurse returned.

"I guess I'll see you later," Logan said slowly drifting to sleep.

Max looked up at him with her big brown eyes, 

"Promise?"

Had Logan been more alert at the time, he probably would have been shocked by Max's question. However, all he had the strength left to do was answer her.

"I promise, Max. I promise," he murmured as the anesthetic took full affect and he fell asleep. Max squeezed his hand tightly as though to say good-bye and watched him disappear down the corridor.

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//Stay strong Max. Everything's gonna be okay.//

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Five Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next five hours seemed endless to Max as she impatiently grasped the side of her chair and worriedly waited. Every now and then, she would peer down the hallway, hoping to see Dr. Westbank or some nurse coming to tell that he was fine and that everything had gone well. Each second felt like a minute and each minute like an hour; so by the time a total of six and a half hours had passed, she was nearly ready to have a breakdown. She heard something shouted over the loudspeaker of the hospital and watched as a team of doctors rushed into the O.R. 

Memories from her dream the night before flooded her head as her heart began pounding in her chest. For one of the first times in her life, she had no control over what was going on; and she didn't like it. She felt so helpless; she could lose him right then and there and there would be nothing she could do about it. The very thought nearly moved the usually impassive girl to tears. She cover her face with her hands and closed her eyes.

Katie, who along with Mrs. Wrobleski had been waiting with Max, noticed her panicky look and was about to speak up when her mother haughtily said,

"Something must have gone wrong in there. Why on Earth would it be taking this long otherwise?"

Katie watched Max as she removed her hands from her face and looked up. Katie couldn't believe her eyes; there were two tiny tears trickling down Max's face. She was crying. Mrs. Wrobleski turned and studied the girl's face.

"Oh cheer up, dear," she began in her usually conceited tone, "you of all people should be happy. Now, you'll get what you've wanted all along. I mean, there's no doubt that he left all of his money to you, so-"

She had seen one too many girls break her nephew's heart to trust this one.

"Mother!" Katie shouted, appalled by what she had said. 

If this had been any other situation, Max would have kicked the conceited woman's ass from there to Liverpool, but she couldn't. For what seemed like eons, all she could do was stare at here.

Finally, she managed to say something.

"His money? she said, her voice trailing off at the end.

"Oh come off it. Like any of us actually thought that you actually loved him. I've seen one too many girls like you with him. It's always the same."

Her words pierced Max's heart and her natural bitchiness soon kicked back in.

"Listen Ms. High and Mighty," she began, "you can say whatever the hell you want about me," by this point, she had started crying almost hysterically as all of her unleashed emotions competed for attention.

"But," she said gritting her teeth and getting right up in the woman's face, "don't you ever, EVER, say that I don't love him."

Katie pulled Max into a hug as she glanced around the room, glad that it was empty in that ward of the hospital. She led Max out of the waiting room, glaring at her mother as she walked past her. Once away from her mother, Katie pulled a tear struckk Max into a comforting embrace as Max tried to speak.

"I'm sorry," she tried to say, but her voice was torn, ripped by the powerful sobs, that shook her small body.

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//What's wrong with me? // She wondered, _//I never cry._//

"Hey," Katie aid soothingly, "Don't listen to my mother. She had no right to say that. And she lied no else thinks that. *Max*," she said, forcing the girl to look at her, "It's gonna be okay. Logan's fine. I promise you, he's gonna be okay. He's too stubborn to give up," she told her, finally getting her to smile a little.

"Believe me. It runs in the family."

Max followed Katie back into the waiting room. She cautiously avoided Mrs. Wrobleski's eye as she sat down to wait, again.

About forty-five minutes later, Dr. Westbank, his mask still hanging around his neck, came strolling toward them. 

The second she spotted him, Max leapt from the chair. After rushing toward him, she blurted out with concern written all over her face,

"Is he okay?"

Max tried to stay silent and motionless as she waited for the doctor's answer, but her legs began to tremble, and she had to brace herself and lean against the wall. Her face had gone so pale that Katie and the doctor worried that she might faint. 

Max could practically feel Mrs. Wrobleski's watery blue eyes, so unlike Logan's, avidly watching her from across the room. It seemed like hours before the doctor's answer arrived. When he began to speak again, Max's heart leapt into her throat.

"There were some complications, which explain why the surgery took so long. But luckily we were able to get things under control and successfully completed the operation," he said looking directly at Max, who had just breathed the world's largest sigh of relief as Katie and her mother just seemed to fade into the background.

"He lost a lot of blood, and although we've transfused him, he's still going to be quite fatigued and will most likely be resting for the remainder of the day." Max's pulse began to return to normal. 

"Can I see him?" she asked so eagerly that she didn't even recognize her own voice.

Dr. Westbank chuckled at her impatience and nodded, 

"Sure, come on."

He led her down another corridor to Logan's room. Max walked in on tiptoe. She gasped softly to herself as she looked around the room. All kinds of machines were hooked up to Logan. He almost looked like one of her fellow Chimeras back at Manticore.

She pulled a chair over to his bedside and sat down, her eyes never leaving Logan's face. Max sought out his hand and gently wound her fingers around his. She stared at him silently for some time as she recalled the time they had spent together in the past few months. 

She noticed that as always, one lock of hair tumbled over Logan's forehead. She fought her hand to stay back and not lean over and brush it away; but, nonetheless, Max's hand seemed to have a mind of its own as she reached over and whisked the few strands of hair away from his eyes. At that same moment, Logan's eyes flickered, revealing his cobalt blue eyes. Max's heart stoppped momentarily and started up again with a redoubled tempo.

"Max?" he asked weakly, calling out her name, unable to see her face.

"I'm right here," she whispered. Logan blinked a few times and tried to make out the face in front of him.

"Hey," he said, his voice still hoarse.

"Hey," she said smiling at him, although he couldn't see her expression, 

"How are you feeling?" Max asked, taking his glasses off her face and slipping them back onto his. She quickly clutched his hand again.

"Okay," he answered resting his head back against the pillow before looking back at Max.

With his glasses back on, he could actually see her face. It appeared tear-stained and she was swallowing hard several times, the way people do when their trying hard not to cry in front of someone.

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//Has she been crying?// he wondered, the very idea almost absurd to him.

For a brief moment, they just looked at each other, in a different, light than usual.

Meanwhile, little did they know that someone was spying on them from them doorway, 

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//Perhaps, I was wrong about her. Maybe it is love.// Mrs. Wrobleski thought as she watched them together.

"Well," Max said getting up from her chair, "you really should get some rest. I just wanted you to know that I'm here," she paused for a moment, as she looked into Logan's bright blue eyes, "besides, I think that some other people want to see you." She tried to walk away, but Logan seized her wrist first and pulled her back over near him.

"Max," he said winding his fingers around her thin wrist, "Thanks...for being her.

And the rubber band, that represented Max's control, stretched even more. And that's when it all became too for her. 

The setting. The people. The words. She was losing control. She had to get out of there and fast. She quickly pulled her hand away and looking down at the floor away from his face, fled the room.

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//You know, I could swear that this is dèjá vu,// Logan thought as he watched Max run away from him for a second time. 

As Max exited the room, Logan's aunt entered. She had been watching him and Max for the past fifteen minutes or so and was quite surprised by what she had seen. There was something there that hadn't been there before. 

Meanwhile, Max had walked outside and started talking to Katie.

"So," Logan's cousin began, "How'd it go in there?" 

Max shrugged, "He's doing okay, a little tire, but he'll pull through."

"I don't wanna be the one to say I told you so, but-"

Max glanced at her and grinned, "Go ahead. You know you want to say it."

"Okay then, I told you so," she teased.

Max started talking again, "If he starts walking again, he'll be able to live his life like he used to," 

Her head turned and she looked down at the floor.

"He'll be able to do things for himself again. Won't need help. That'll make him happy."

It was such a subtle action and the average person wouldn't have thought twice about it; but Katie saw and recognized it as an act of sad anticipation of what might happen.

"Hey," Katie said hoping to the lift the girl's spirits. Max looked up when suddenly, Katie's face broke out with this wicked grin that Max had only seen once before on Logan.

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//You know, I think I finally see the resemblance between them.//

Maintaining her sly look, Katie said, "That's not the only thing that will make him happy."

Max knew what was meant by that comment and quickly denied it.

"I told you a thousand times, we're just friends."

"Oh give me a break," Katie exclaimed, extremely frustrated by the obstinate girl, "he wants you so bad, he probably dreams about sweeping you into his arms and-"

"You're crazy, you know that," Max said laughing at the girl's preposterous assumption.

She turned on her heels and started walking down the hallway. Katie followed and stopped her. 

"No, Max. I see it," Katie said finally getting through to her. Finally getting past the security she had built up.

"I watch him when you're around. he comes alive when he's with you."

Katie read the expression in Max's eyes as she spoke and knew that she had just completed the first step of her "ingenious plan." But, she wasn't finished yet. 

"And, if you can't accept this power that you have over him, at least promise one thing"

Max took a deep breath. 

"What?"

This whole conversation, added to what had happened in the past two days, had changed her entire way of looking at Logan. Maybe all it would take would be one more step before the rubber band snapped. 

Katie continued, "Just be there for him these next few days. They're not gonna be easy for him and it'll be nice for him to have a *friend*. I'd do it myself, but Rachel's not coming in until the day before the wedding and everything has to be ready."

Both girls fell into a contemplative silence for a moment.

"So," she said, starting again, "think you can do that?"

"Yeah," Max answered, "I can do that."

Katie's mom came out of Logan's room and asked her if she wanted to speak with him. She nodded and went inside the room.

"Hey," she said, walking into the room.

"Hey," he replied, a little more awake than he had been before.

"How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good."

"Well that's good," Katie said taking the seat that was left near his bed.

"You know, I was talking to Max just now," Katie continued.

She watched as the expression on Logan's face changed considerably.

"Oh really?" he asked, sounding quite concerned.

"Yeah," she replied, seeing the expression on his face. This "step" of her plan was working.

"You know she cares about you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Logan answered looking away.

"Well I am. You should have seen her out there waiting. A nervous wreck. Tears and everything," she said, hoping he would believe her.

Katie watched as Logan seemed to stare off into space for a little while as though he were processing the information and what it mean.

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//Max was crying... because of me,// he thought.

Slowly, the slightest of smiles spread across his face. And she knew right then and there, that she didn't need to try to fix them up. It would eventually happen. Naturally. Things were going to be different now; they weren't acting anymore.

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Constructive criticism and any other reviews are much appreciated. ~Lissa Mahon.


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